From The Normans: What Happens If I Don't?

Dexter's most frequently asked question these days has been "What happens if I don't?" As in: Dexter, please eat your dinner. "What happens if I DON'T eat my dinner?" Well, then you will be hungry. Or: Dexter, please wash your hands. "What happens if I DON'T wash my hands?" (Me running out of ideas, because, really, nothing happens if he doesn't wash his hands. Except maybe some salmonella from that dog poop he picked up with his hands today...) Well, what happens when you don't listen to Mama?

And he totally know the answer. And comes back with "You go in time out." And I, in my (mildly successful) attempt to get him to use pronouns correctly, respond, "No, I don't go to time out. I listen the first time I am asked."

This is like the three year old version of "WHY?" and the mom's version of, "Because I SAID so, dammit!"

It. Drives. Me. Batty.

Lord help me, I am going to need ear plugs and lots of beer when he starts asking the "why" questions.

Fortunately for Dexter, he is super cute. It's a good thing.

We went to Longwood today, supposedly to meet some friends. But the friends were (as always) very late. So we never saw them, but we did have a very nice time wandering.

It was nice enough outside that we could feed the fish, and some very hungry geese.

Dex said "I can sit on this bench for a little while, and then we can go back down those cool cool stairs." OK, cute stuff. Note to Mama - maybe use the word "cool" less...

We checked out a gazebo we had never been to before.

I feel like I've seen this exact same picture before... Same pants and everything.

It's orchid time at Longwood inside. Pretty.

Big orchid bush, forced "Why the hell is she making me do this" CHEESE smile from the child.

No idea what this is, besides cool looking.

It's spring time inside! And outside, actually, there's some little crocus kind of things, and you can see the green of the tulips pushing up through the dirt. Also, MY tulips in our front yard are starting to peek through, as well. Holy crap, flowers. IT JUST TURNED FEBRUARY.